Make a Bet on Oakland to Beat Houston

One of my shocking free betting tips for this Sunday is to put a wager on the Oakland Raiders to beat the Houston Texans straight up on the moneyline.

No way, D.S.!  You must be joking!  Joking I am not, my friends, joking I am not!

Yes, Houston might be the overall better team but the stars may align for the Raiders to pull off the big upset this Sunday.  Houston was exposed last Sunday in their 27 to 13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys as having a less than capable defense.  Their offense didn’t look that wonderful either.

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Those two things that, along with some key factors regarding Oakland, lead me to believe that one of the best NFL free betting tips I can offer football handicappers is to back the Raiders on the money line this Sunday.

Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders

Where:  Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

When:  Oct. 3rd, 2010 at 4:05 pm EST

TV:  CBS

Radio:  Sirius – 121 (HOU) 126 (OAK) 

NFL Betting Lines

Houston Texans                      -3 -120             -170     O 43 -110

Oakland Raiders                     +3 +100           +150    U 43 -110

The NFL betting trends favor the Houston Texans in this game.

• The Houston Texans are 8 and 2 ATS in their last 10 games following a loss.

• The Houston Texans are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games on grass.

• The Oakland Raiders are 1 and 4 ATS in the last 5 meetings between these two teams.

• The Oakland Raiders are 4-21-2 ATS in their last 27 games as an underdog of ½ to 3 points.

How could betting on the Raiders to win possibly qualify as one of my best free betting tips for the weekend?

Easy.  Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson is suffering from an ankle injury, statistically the Raiders’ D is one of the best in the NFL, the Raiders should be 2 and 1 instead of 1 and 2, and the Raiders’ offense has some good weapons.

Houston has a plethora of weapons at QB Matt Shaub’s disposal, there’s no doubt about that, but the Texans face the best defense they’ve seen all season long this Sunday.  Oakland’s D is ranked 3rd in the NFL.  It gives up only 127.7 passing yards per game.

Although Houston RB Arian Foster could have a big day against the Raiders, the fact that their best WR, Andre Johnson, will be limited is going to hurt Foster’s production.  The Raiders’ D will have one less guy to worry about in the secondary. That means that they could possibly bring safety Tyvon Branch up to help on Foster.

Flip it, and things appear bad for Houston.  Houston’s D is one of the worst in the NFL.  It allows 368.7 passing yards per game.  It looks good against the run, allowing only 54.3 yards per game, but how good is Houston’s D really against rushers? 

The fact that teams find it easy to throw against them is one of the reasons that they appear to be stout against the run.  Why run it when you can pick up 15 to 20 yards through the air?  If the Texans were playing against the old Oakland offense, the one that couldn’t move the ball, then I’d say bet on them to cover the spread but they aren’t.

Oakland’s RB Darren McFadden has rushed for 417 yards and 2 touchdowns in only 3 games.  New Raider starting QB Brad Gradkowski is starting to really lengthen the field with passes to underrated Raiders’ WR Louis Murphy.

Could it be that Oakland is turning into a formidable team in the AFC West?  Yes, it could.  If kicker Sebastian Janikowski hadn’t missed 3 field goals under 50 yards last week, including the potential game winner, the Raiders would be 2 and 1 on the season instead of 1 and 2.

Oakland is starting to play well.  The Houston Texans are starting to not play well.  Putting money on the Raiders to beat Houston on the moneyline is one of my best free betting tips for the weekend.

NFL Betting Pick:  Oakland Raiders +150

Find more free betting tips on NFL games in the sportsbook!
Sources:  espn.com, covers.com, tsn.com, nfl.com